Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Author Interview: Robert Bresloff

When
the army of the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di had invaded
neighboring Annam, Chen, a thirteen year old boy was saved by a
mysterious old man as the invading Chinese destroyed his village and
killed his family. The old man turned out to be, Master Waan, a Ship's
Wizard in the service of the great Chinese admiral Zheng He. Though
Chen thought the old man odd, he knew that his only chance for
survival-to accompany Master Waan to China. As the wizard's apprentice,
Chen sailed with the fleet, a gigantic armada made up of great Chinese
Treasure Ships in search of what Chen believed to be magical place
referred to only as Wanderland. He soon learned that it was no
coincidence Master Waan had appeared at the village just in time to save
his life. It was Chen's destiny to find Wanderland. -- From Diversion Press

Actually, I read a short news story about Gavin Menzies’ book 1421
The Year China Discovered the World. I was very intrigued by the
possibility of the Chinese discovering the Americas before Columbus.
After reading the book, I decided to tell the story in terms that
children could understand. I made the protagonist a young teen named
Chen, whose life is saved by and taken under the wing of a master
wizard. Together, they sail the seas in search of a mysterious place
called Wanderland. I don’t actually write that they discover America,
but I definitely give hints to where they travel.

What sort of research did you do for the book? Did you do extensive research for the book or was this a subject you were already familiar with?

To be honest, there really isn’t much material out there besides
Menzies’ book, Louise Levathes’ book, When China Ruled The Seas,
and J.A.G Roberts’ A Concise History of China in researching the
Chinese armada of the 1400’s. I really wasn’t at all familiar with the
subject, but the internet was extremely helpful in providing drawings
and information on Chinese vessels of that period, as well as
descriptions of the ships and ports they traveled to. I really know more
about Chinese Junks then I ever would have thought any one would need
to know, but it was necessary to describe as much detail as possible to
make the reader familiar with the character’s surroundings.

I really liked the short Prologue and Epilogues that take place in
present day. What made you decide to add these elements, rather than
just presenting a straight historical fiction novel?

I wanted the reader to feel that there are always new horizons to
see, new frontiers to discover and that there is no limit to the
imagination, so never give up. It could also make a very interesting
sequel that focuses on the present day boy and his connections to Chen.
Hmmm.

It's so important for historical fiction novels to feel true to their depicted time period, and Wanderland felt like a true glimpse into the Ming Dynasty: what tips do you have for writers in creating dialog and situations that fit with a completely different time period with different slang and societal norms?

It takes enormous amounts of research, but the time is well worth it.
There are many ways to bring realism to a story. In the case of
Wanderland, I studied Confucius and Tao philosophy (every chapter starts
with a Chinese proverb or philosophical thought that relates to the
chapter). I even hired a Tai Chi instructor to experience the grace of
the culture. Movies are a great resource, not so much Hollywood films,
but historic films made in the country you’re writing about. The
subtitles are tough but the mannerisms and costumes are truer to life. I
literally immersed myself into Chinese culture for the year that I
wrote the book. The best part was the food. I love Chinese food so that
was easy.

What made you decide to include the magical elements? I really enjoyed them and felt it added to the story without making it feel like a "wizard novel."

As a historical novel Wanderland would probably stand without the
wizardry, but I felt that with the magical element I could expand the
character development to a higher level. Chen had to deal with his new
situation and the other characters had to play off his being different.
It also made the book more fun to write. I wanted a magical feel, but
still be somewhat believable. Chen doesn’t fly on a broom or wave a
magic wand, but he is still a wizard.

Were you an avid reader as a kid/teen, and what were your favorite books?

I loved the classics, Verne, Dumas, H.G. Wells, Doyle and Stevenson. I
couldn’t get enough. While my friends were reading Superman and Batman
comics, I was reading The ThreeMusketeers, and Journey
to the Center of the Earth. Even when I did read comics, my
favorites were Classics Illustrated. Some of my all time favorites were Treasure
Island, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Three Musketeers. I
still love swashbuckling tales and I tried to bring that to Wanderland.

What made you want to become a writer, and what drew you historical fiction for YA and Middle Grade readers?

I’m not really sure why writers write. I guess it’s just something
inside. I started writing short mysteries in the 70’s but never got
published. Then about 10 years ago I wrote something for a friend as a
joke. It actually turned out pretty well so I tried my hand at a novel.

Actually,
the YA, middle school thing happened by chance. The first book I wrote
was TheFifth Codex, an Indiana Jones type adventure for
adults. Since it was my first attempt at writing a novel, I decided to
have it critiqued. I hired a well known professional editor in New York.
She loved the writing but didn’t think the story merited an adult
audience. She suggested that I rewrite the book with one of the
characters as a teen ager. I know of writers who would refuse to change a
single word, but not this guy. I actually loved the idea and rewrote
the manuscript. Bingo, I was hooked. It was great; I could write about
adventures that I would have loved to read as a kid. I really enjoy
writing for kids because in some ways, I never really grew up.

What are you reading now?

Currently I’m reading a book titled Blue Gold by Clive
Cussler. It’s a modern day swashbuckler so it’s right up my alley.

Congratulations on your book. My own personal theory - you are a quite a reader and I think readers get so much pleasure from reading that they want to be able to do the same thing for someone else - provide an escape, a magical respite from the real world.

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I recently completede my Master's in Publishing from Portland State University where I studied all things publishing and YA. I've recently rediscovered YA lit and have become obsessed with everything that's going in YA right now. Hopefully one day (likely many, many years from now) I will open my own publishing company devoted to Young Adult and Children's books, but for now I will be reading and writing about YA and whatever else strikes my fancy.

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